
OLD DORCHESTER 
BURYING GROUND 

1634 



JOHN A. FOWLE 



DORCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

"YE OLD BLAKE HOUSE" "" 
1907 



N/ 



/ 



"Q 



M fcVOGii. 



DORCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

PAPER ON THE 

OLD DORCHESTER 
BURYING GROUND 



READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, NOVEMBER 22nd, 1901 
BY 

JOHN A. FoVlE 



SECOND EDITION 



Published b}f the Sociel}) at 

YE OLD BLAKE HOUSE." COLUMBIA ROAD 

(Built in 1648) 

DORCHESTER. MASS. 
JANUARY, 1907 



; 74 



DORCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



OFFICERS 

1906-1907 



President. RICHARD C. HUMPHREYS 

Vice-President. JAMES H. STARK 

Secretary and Treasurer, JOHN A. FOWLE 



DIRECTORS 

EDWD A. HUEBNER JAMES H. STARK 

EUGENE R. SHIPPEN EDWD W. McGLENNAN 

JOHN A. FOWLE 

Open Tuesdays and Saturdays 2 to 5 P. M. Admission Free 



SECOND EDITION. 

Since the first edition of this paper was issued, the author has been 
compHmented by its being printed in several newspapers, and has read 
it before three societies. The first edition was early exhausted, and 
there being so many requests for copies, the second edition is now 
printed. 

The statement made on page iq about the spot where were buried 
a number of Revolutionary soldiers was called to the attention of the 
Sons of the American Revolution, and they promptly placed over 
the graves a large boulder with a bronze tablet stating that this is in 
memory of the brave patriots who died in 1775 and 1776 in defence of their 
country. The memorial address was made by our President, Richard C. 
Humphreys, Esq. 

Oliver Holden, the author of the tune "Coronation," (which will nevei 
die,) lived for many years on Bunker Hill. When the town of Charlestown 
was burned by the British in 1775, among the few remaining relics was 
a Peony tuber not killed by the fire. It marked a spot where some prop- 
erty was located, and recognized by this root of Peony. 

The Peony, or some of its tubers, came into the possession of Oliver 
Holden, and was cared for by him in his garden for many years. A 
few years ago his home and garden were sold, and Mrs. Fowle obtained 
a tuber for the Dorchester Historical Society, which Mr. Burnes 
planted in the rear of Governor Stoughton's tomb, and by last accounts 
the plant was in a flourishing condition. It will prove to be a valued 
reHc. 



\3] 



OLD DORCHESTER BURYING-GROUND. 
1634. 

BY JOHN A. FOWLE. 

At the entrance to our old ,<;ra\eyard on Columbia Road 
(formerly Boston Street), on the ^ate is a bronze tablet, on 
which is the following inscription: — 

DORCHESTER BURIAL GROUND 

HERE WERE BURIED 

Gcwertiors 
William Stoughton, 1701 
William Tailer, 1732 

Ministers 
Richard Mather, 1669 
JosiAH Flint, 1680 
John Danforth, 1730 
Jonathan Bowm.\n, 1775 
Moses Everett, 18 13 
Thaddeus Mason Harris, 1842 
Major-General Humphrey Atherton, 1661 
William Poole, schoolmaster, 1674 
John Foster, ist printer of Boston, 168 i 
Isaac Royal, 1739 
James Blake, annalist, 1750 
and Ebenezer Clapp, 1 88 1 
[4] 



As we gaze on this tablet, and enter the venerable and sacred 
spot, we are reminded of the inspired lines by Mrs. Sigourney: 

"Come, let us turn 
Through yon untrodden avenue, and muse 
Where rest the ancient dead. 

Methinks even now, 
From their unnoted sepulchres, they warn 
Alike the idler, and the man of care. 

They tell how vain 
The pride that lurks in gorgeous monuments, 
The pyramid, the stained sarcophagus. 

Still there's a life that lives 
Amid the mouldering clay, and silent clings 
To human sympathies. We speak to them 
Who speak no more, and listen for their words, 
Forgetful that the interminable veil 
Is drawn between us: 
Yet they have a voice — 
A tombstone witness to the holy truths 
That cannot die." 

History tells us that the ancients had great reverence for 
their dead. Our North American Indians buried their dead 
with great ceremonies, leaving with their bodies their hunting 
implements, bidding them God-speed to the happy hunting 
grounds. Longfellow, in his "Song of Hiawatha," says: — 

"And they painted on the grave-posts, 
On the graves, yet unforgotten. 
Each his own ancestral totem, 
Each the symbol of his household; 
So that those who follow after 
May distinguish them and know them." 

China is said to be one vast burying-ground, so careful 
are the Chinese in preserving the graves of their ancestors. 

In this busy world, amid the activities and cares of life, 
we are tempted to forget those who have passed on, who were 
once dear to society, those whom we should keep within reach 
of our thoughts. 

Therefore, it is wise for us to recur to the history of our 

[5] 



"Old Dorchester Burying-ground." We can turn to it 
with mingled feelings of reverence and pride, — reverence es- 
pecially for those who came here in the "Mary and John" 
and founded "Good Old Dorchester," who suffered and bled 
to establish a home where true liberty could be enjoyed; pride 
that in these sacred grounds are deposited the remains of those 
who established the first town meeting and the first free 
school in America. 

We thrill with emotion when we read of the Spartan mothers; 
but where in history can be found the equal of the unwearied 
Christian devotion of our early mothers? The full story of 
their sufferings, and the patriotic spirit that continually was 
shown by sainted mothers of "good old Dorchester" can never 
be fully written by historian or sung by poet, but we may be 
sure it is recorded in the "Book of Life," and what is not on 
the tablet of our memories will be revealed in the better land. 

It is unfortunate that records are so meagre in the histories 
of all our ancient burial-grounds. I find on investigation of 
the various accounts of graveyards in Boston, Charlestown, 
Roxbury, and Dorchester that we have the best and most 
thorough information of any of them, and, had it not been for 
the fire which destroyed the house of Thomas ^lillet in 1657, 
burning the records of births and deaths up to that time, we 
should probably have a fairly perfect record of the early burials 
in our graveyard. 

Regarding ancient funerals, Frothingham says: "Funerals 
were of an anomalous character. As religion occupied so much 
of the life of the people, it would be natural to suppose that 
religious services were conspicuous at funerals. The Pagans 
buried their dead with songs of triumph, and the Catholics 
prayed for the souls of the departed. 

To avoid idolatry and popery, the Puritan had few prayers 
or services at a funeral, and for many years from the first settle- 
ment they were almost unknown. The first reference I find 
to a prayer is mentioned by Judge Sewall. He speaks of a 
prayer ofifered in 1685 at the funeral of Rev. William Adams. 
[6] 



With public officers, ministers, magistrates, and the wealthy, 
funerals were conducted somewhat differently. They were 
buried with great ceremonies and parade. Large numbers of 
people would assemble at the home of the deceased. Crape, 
hatbands, gloves, and rings were furnished. A procession mar- 
shalled by persons bearing staffs, halberts, and other badges 
of authority, clothed in mourning, walked' at the tolling of 
the bell to the grave, friends carrying the body on a bier. If 
the corpse was a female, the women walked first; if a male, 
the men went first. Returning to the house, an entertainment 
was usually given, some of them quite expensive. Wine, cider, 
and rum was furnished. Even at a pauper's funeral, wine and 
gloves were provided and paid for by the town. No funerals 
were allowed on Sunday except in very special cases. All 
these customs prevailed for many years. 

In the year 1703 the funeral of Captain Sprague, of Charles- 
town, cost ;^i47, including the expense of gloves, hats, bands, 
crape, rings, wine, etc. The town of Charlestown in 1774 
spent ;^6o for the funeral of Rev. Mr. Abbott. In the list of 
expenses are charges for gloves, rings, pipes, crape, wine, etc. 

The General Court finally abolished the use of wines at 
funerals, and the furnishing of gloves to all who attended a 
funeral was discontinued. After 1764 they were only supplied 
to the chief mourners. 

The early history of the burial-grounds in Dorchester, Boston, 
Charlestown, and Roxbury, is very meagre. What accessible 
records we have show that King's Chapel was laid out in 
1630, and now contains 19,200 'sq. ft.; Roxbury in 1633, and 
now contains 30,082 sq. ft.; Dorchester in 1634, and now con- 
tains 135,036 sq. ft.; Charlestown in 1640, and now contains 
76,740 sq. ft.; Copp's Hill in 1659, and now contains 88,800 
sq. ft.; Granary in 1660, and now contains 81,900 sq. ft. 

It is probable that the first burial-ground in Dorchester was 
near the meeting-house on the corner of Pleasant and Cottage 
Streets. No record has been found relating to it, and we do 
not know how many were buried there or who they were. 
17] 



The first official information we have of our burying-ground 
is found in the town records. In November, 1633, the town 
agreed to establish the burying-ground on the knap (or rising 
ground) belonging to Goodman (John) Greenaway. On 
March 3, 1634, the town passed the vote as follows: — 

" Agreed that there be a decent burial place bounded in upon 
the knap [rising ground] by Goodman Greenaway's, and that 
shall be done by the voters; also a bier to carry the dead on." 

On the same day it was 

" Ordered that the new burying ground last agreed upon shall 
be forthwith impaled with double rail pail, five rods square." 

If we pace off about eighty feet on each street, we shall 
know about where the original boundaries were, containing 
some 7,000 square feet. 

Mr. Orcutt, in his history of "Good Old Dorchester," 
says: " Measures were on foot in 1682 to provide means where- 
with to build a fence around the burying-ground. A com- 
mittee was appointed to visit the most influential of the in- 
habitants, and to solicit financial aid, so that the town rate 
might be lightened. The result of their endeavors was that 
Thomas Modsley was appointed to make and maintaine a 
sufficient fence against the burieng place for seven years, and 
to keep it up all the tyme, and then to leave a sufficient fence 
at the end of the terme." 

In 1835 our late public-spirited citizen, Samuel Downer, 
devoted much time and taste in improving the dilapidated 
monuments and to cultivating shrubs and trees. To-day 
we have an ancient burying-ground — and I speak from actual 
observation, having recently visited the different burial-grounds 
in Boston, Roxbury, and Charlestown — that is not exceeded 
by any in its picturesqueness, its well-kept walks and lawns, 
its display of shrubs and plants, all showing the evident in- 
terest and care that is taken in it, only limited by the means 
at his command, by our present superintendent, J. J. Burnes, 
who has held that office for the past eleven years, and has buried 
here 511 persons. We all know how efficient his predecessor, 
[81 



George Fowler, was, serving for twenty-seven years, and bury- 
ing 1,378 persons. 

I was pleased to find in m}' investigations that no scandal 
in the way of selling the privilege of burial to persons who 
were not entitled to bury their dead in vaults or graves belong- 
ing to some one else has ever arisen in connection with the 
Dorchester burying-ground, as had been discovered in old 
times in some of the graveyards in Boston and Charlestown. 
Uncle Daniel Davenport, who was sexton of the First Parish 
Church for nearly fifty years, who officiated at 1,593 funerals, 
was not, any more than his predecessors or successors, a man 
who would allow any one to be buried in a spot where they 
had no right to be placed. Uncle Daniel was succeeded by his 
son, who buried 1,267 persons. 

Up to about 1830 there had been buried in these ancient 
grounds 6,000 bodies. The graveyard had then existed two 
hundred and sixteen years. Since that time there have been 
laid at rest about 2,000, making a total of some 8,000 in our 
old burying-ground. 

Besides the Indians and reptiles it is a matter of history that 
our forefathers were troubled with wolves. Oct. 30, 1638, the 
town ofifered to pay the sum of twenty shillings for the first wolf 
killed by any one, fifteen for the second, and ten shillings for 
any wolf killed afterwards. One year the town paid for 
the killing of seven wolves. We find several of the old graves 
covered with a flat slab of rude stone extending the entire 
length of the grave so as to prevent any depredation by wolves. 

It was customary in Great Britain to have epitaphs on 
many graves of the deceased, they in some cases writing their 
own epitaphs, giving items of history and virtues, with occa- 
sional good advice to those left behind. Our ancestors con- 
tinued this custom, following it for many years. In most of 
the old towns in this country we find original and quaint' 
epitaphs that give us information that we might not otherwise 
possess, some so peculiar that we cannot but smile. 

Shakespeare, in Mark Antony's oration on Julius Caesar, says: 

[9] 



"The evil that men do lives after them, 
The good is oft interred with their bones." 

I have sometimes thought, in reading epitaphs of kings, 
princes, and others, that Shakespeare's words in some in- 
stances are reversed. 

Our old Dorchester burying-ground is rich in epitaphs, and 
deservedly has a world-wide renown with antiquarians. 
What an illustrious list of distinguished dead we have! and 
here lie hundreds, their stone marking only their names, ages, 
and death, while many graves — sad to say — are without means 
of identification. Perhaps among them "rests some village 
Hampden," "to fame unknown." 

While consulting the various books and documents in the 
library of the "New England Historic and Genealogical So- 
ciety," I consulted with Mrs. W. T. Hersey, who had read an 
interesting paper on our burying-ground before the Woman's 
Temperance Union. She kindly offered to lend me her notes, 
and I have availed myself of that privilege by quoting from 
them some of the epitaphs and her account of them. 

We can claim the oldest marked grave in America. It has 
been stated there was one older at Jamestown, Va. A gentle- 
man who visited the spot, a few years ago, told me there is 
hardly a vestige of the spot remaining, as neglect and the 
James River are fast removing all the landmarks of that once 
famous spot. 

The oldest-marked grave is that of Barnard Capen, who 
died Nov. 8, 1638, aged seventy-six years. His wife, Joan, 
died fifteen years later. The original stone was found some 
years ago by Mr. Fowler, imbedded in some coarse earth near 
the grave. Some of the pieces are now at the Historical So- 
ciety's rooms in Somerset Street. A new stone, copy of the 
original, was erected in its place, with the following inscrip- 
tion : — 

"Here lies the bodies of M"" Barnard Capen, & M^s Joan Capen, 
his v/ife. He died Nov 8 1638: aged 76 years. & she died March 26, 
1653 Aged 75 years." 

[10] 




Llc5 tKe t>ocJ i-e^T of 

I M^ Samara CdfJCTi. 

4^^ M- Joau Cabe-a k'ts 




In the line with the Capen stone are seven slabs of slate, 
each bearing the name of Capen, the latest date being 1746. 
Their graves are covered with the rough stone to keep out 
the wolves. 







THE Ci^PE^i CRAVE 

OLDEST MARKED GRAVE IN AMERICA. 



The second oldest gravestone or slab is one of great inter- 
est to antiquarians. I asked Miss Annie E. Clapp if she could 
give me anything from her father's scrap-book that might in- 
terest us in an article on the old burying-ground. She looked 
over the book, and found a communication from the honored 
Dr. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, and kindly gave it to me to use. 
It is in relation to the graves of "Abel" and "Submit." Dr. 
Shurtleff writes as follows: "On a small horizontal slab of 
dark slate stone may be read two poetical enigmas, the subjects 
of which have baffled the skill of the very persevering and in- 
genious antiquarians and genealogists of Dorchester. This 
slab does not appear as old as its inscriptions indicate, and 
it may have been in the yard as late as the year 1659, when a 
similar inscription was dated, if not at a period subsequent 
to that. The inscriptions are : — 



'Abel, his offering accepted is, 
His body to the grave, his soul to bliss, 
In October twenty, and no more, 
In the year sixteen hundred 44. 



Submit submitted to her heavenly king, 
Being a flower of the eternal spring; 
Near 3 years old, she died in heaven to wait 
The year was sixteen hundred 48. 



"The third inscription (its stone not to be found) has been 
preserved by an ancient grave-digger, now resting from his 
labors, beneath the turf of the same vard, and is as follows: — 



'Submit submitted down to dust, 
Her soul ascends up to the just; 
At near . . . o\ ., she did resign, 
Her soul's gone to Christ, year '59. 
[.2] 



" I have allowed this to be printed several times, and its state- 
ments have been confirmed by other writers. And yet on my 
part, without ever dreaming that among my own notes, taken 
many years ago, I was in possession of the facts which would 
have easily explained the whole mystery. . . . Knowing the 
interest generally felt in this memorial stone and its inscrip- 
tions, I ventured an explanation. 

"The mystery about these children is solved by the records 
of the First Church in Boston. Among the baptisms may be 
found those of children of two persons bearing the name 
of Thomas Clarke. . . . The second Thomas Clarke was re- 
ceived into the fellowship of the church by the following 
record: 'The 27th day of ye 9th month, 1647, Mr. Thomas 
Clarke, upon lines of dismission from ye church at Dorchester, 
having declared his spiritual condicion at ye elder's meeting.' 
. . . The following minutes are taken from the records of the 
Boston First Church: 'Baptized the 20th day of ye 7th month, 
1646, by o'r pastor. Submit Clarke, ye daughter of Thomas 
Clarke, a member of ye church at Dorchester, being about a 
day old. The 4th day of ye ist month, 1649, [by] o'r pastor, 
Submit Clarke, ye daughter of o'r brother, Thomas Clarke, 
being about 19 days old. Between the dates of baptism of the 
two Submits, Mr. Clarke was admitted to the fellowship of the 
First Church in Boston. . . . The baptism of Abel does not 
appear on the Boston records, but he was undoubtedly an elder 
brother of the Submits." 

William Pole was the fourth schoolmaster of the town, and 
taught the school from 1659 until 1668. The following in- 
scription records the resting-place of one of Dorchester's 
old schoolmasters, with reflections written by himself: — 

"Ye epitaph of William Pole, which he himself made while 
he was yet living in remembrance of his own death,- and left 
it to be engraven on his tomb, yet so being dead he might warn 
posterity as a resemblance of a -^ead man bespeaking ye 
reader." 

[13] 



"Here lieth buried ye body of William Pole, aged 8i years, w 
died ye 25th day of February', in ye year 1674." 

Ho, passenger! 'tis worth thy pains to stay 

And take a dead man's lesson by ye way; 

1 was what now thou art, and thou shalt be 

What I am now, what odds twixt thou and me. 

Now go thy way, but stay, take one word more 

Thy staff for ought thou knowest stands ye next dore; 

Death is ye dore, ye dore of heaven or hell. 

Be warned, be armed, believe, repent, farewell. 



FIRST PRINTER IN BOSTON. 

In the vicinity of Mr. Pole's grave lies the body of John 
Foster, the "ingenious mathematician and printer." He was 




a graduate from Harvard College in 1667, a teacher in the 

Dorchester school from 1669 to 1674. He opened the first 

printing-office in Boston, about 1675. The first book printed 

[14] 



in Boston was by John Foster in 1675. Its title is a "Sermon 
preached in Boston in New England, the i8th day of the 3d 
month, 1674, when two men were executed who had murdered 
their master; by Increase Mather, teacher of a church of 
Christ." His last book was issued in 1680. He published 
almanacs, and made many of the mathematical calculations. 
He died Sept. 9, 1681, aged thirty-three years. On his stone 
in bas-relief are two figures and a globe with a candlestick on 
the globe, probably representing time and death extinguish- 
ing the lamp of life. His Latin epitaph, translated, reads: 
"Thou O Foster who on earth didst study the heavenly bodies, 
now ascend above the firmament and survey the highest heaven, 
I do survey and inhabit this divine region, to its possession 
I am admitted through the giace of Jesus and to pay the debt 
of gratitude, I hold the most sacred obligation." 

Joseph Capen, of Topsfield, wrote the following poem on 
the death of Foster : — 

"Thy body which no activcness didst lack, 
Now laid aside like an old almanack; 
But for the present only out of date, 
'Twill have at length a far more active state. 
Yea tho' with dust thy body soiled be. 
Yet at the resurrection we shall see 
A fair edition, and of matchless worth, 
Free from Errata's, new in heaven set forth; 
'Tis but a word from God the great creator 
It shall be done, when He saith — Imprimatur." 

In a raised brick vault, covered with a heavy stone, are the 
remains of Rev. Richard Mather. He was a gifted and re- 
markable man. At the age of fifteen he was a teacher in a 
school near Liverpool. Later he entered Oxford, and was 
ordained. He preached at Toxteth sixteen years, and for 
non-conformity was suspended in 1633 and again in 1634. 
The next year he left for New England, and arrived at Boston 
in August, 1635. Refusing several other offers, he accepted 
the call to Dorchester, and labored among our forefathers 
for thirty-four \ears. He was gifted in literature. In 1639 

[15] 



he composed, in connection with Thomas W'elde and John 
Eliot, the "Bay Psalm Book," which was used in the churches 
for a century. In all matters connected with the welfare 
of Dorchester, he was deeply interested. Mr. Mather died 
April 22, 1669, aged seventy-three years. On the church 
records is the following epitaph, which diflers from that on 
his tombstone: — 

"Sacred to God his servant, Richard Mather, 
Sons like him, good and great, did call him father; 
Hard to discern a difference in degree, 
'Twixt his bright learning and high piety. 
Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down, 
So can't his soul or his deserved renown 
From's. birth six lustres and a jubilee 
To his repose, but labored hard in thee, 
O, Dorchester! four more than thirty years 
His sacred dust with thee thine honor rears." 

THE STOUGHTON TOMB. 

Buried beneath an imposing structure lies the body of Williant 
Stoughton, who died July 7, 1701, aged seventy years. The 













THE STOUGHTON TOMB. 



tomb was partly rebuilt in 1828 by Harvard College, from 

which he graduated in 1650. He was intimately connected 

[16] 



with the history of the colony, and held offices of great respon- 
sibility, at one time lieutenant, afterwards governor of the 
province. He was also chief judge of the superior court, 
founder of Stoughton Hall at Harvard College. He was much 
blamed for his connection with the witchcraft trials. The 
estimates of Stoughton vary, but after reading his history and 
epitaph, which is very elaborate and is supposed to have been 
written by Cotton Mather, we are quite sure that he was a 
man of great parts. 

For nearly two centuries a stone has marked the spot where 
lies the body of a schoolmistress. It is marked, — 

"Here lies ye body of Miriam Wood, formerly wife to John Smith, 
aged 73 years; died ye Oct. 19th, 1706. 

A woman well beloved by all. 
Her neighbors, from her care of small 
Folks education, their number being great 
That when she died she scarcely left her mate; 
So wise, discreet was her behaviours 
That she was well esteemed by neighbors. 
She lived in love with all, to dye. 
So let her rest to eternity." 

Another stone near by marks the grave of Ma'am Mima, 
as she was familiarly called, who from her scanty store of 
knowledge gave instruction to the young. She was paid 
about twelve cents per week by each scholar, and they would 
often bring her pieces of wood for fuel and food to eat. She 
used to say that from her earnings she could only afford about 
one dinner a week. The kind attentions of the children were 
repaid by her in the love and attention she showed them. On 
her stone is inscribed: — 

"Here lies the body of Miss Jemima Smith, who died the i6th of 
November, 1798, in the 75th year of her age." 

Near the tomb of the Rev. Mr. Mather is the grave of Elder 
James Humprey. On the 14th February, 1686, he moved 
[17] 



the church that they would look out and provide themselves 
another elder, because he had long been lame and did look 
at himself near his departure out of this world. Deacon 
James Blake was chosen in his place in spite of his plea that 
he was "too thick of hearing" to accept the position. 

Elder Humprey desired that he might be buried in the 
same tomb with Richard Mather, his early friend and pastor, 
but it being so small and stoned up and could only hold one 
coffin, his request could not be complied with. 

Major-General Humphrey Atherton was a man of renown. 
He joined the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery" the second 
year of its formation. He was town treasurer, one of the 
selectmen and was very useful to his fellow-colonists, a brave 
and fearless man, but a believer in witches and a hater of 
heretics. In speaking of his death, Blake says "he was killed 
by a fall from his horse at ye s'o end of Boston, as he was com- 
ing homewards, — I think in ye evening — his horse either 
running over or starting at a cow that lay down in ye way." 
On account of his persecution of the Quakers they claimed it 
was the judgment of God upon the general. He was greatly 
mourned by his fellow-countrymen. On the cover of his 
tomb is carved the representation of a sword and the following 
epitaph: — 



"Here lies our captain and major of Suffolk was withall; 

A godly magistrate was he, and major generall. 

Two troops of horses with him here came, such worth his love did crave; 

Ten companies of foot, also mourning, marched to his grave. 

Let all that read be sure to keep ye faith as he hath done, 

With Christ he lives now crown'd, his name was Humphrey Atherton. 

He died ye i6th of September, 1661." 



A very interesting grave is that of old Daniel Davenport, 
who was sexton for many years. He dug and completed his 
own tomb and his epitaph, written many years before his death. 



[.8] 



The lines were composed by Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, 
minister of the First Parish Church: — 

" As sexton with my spade I learned to delve beneath the sod 
Where body to the earth returns, the spirit to its God. 
Years thirty-seven its toil I bore, yet oft in midst was spared 
Seven hundred graves and thirty-four I dug then mine prepared. 
And when at last I too must die, some else the bell will toll, 
As here my mortal relics lie, may heaven receive my soul." 

A spot of interest is the grave of Nicholas Clap, the ancestor 
of the late Deacon Ebenezer Clap, so well known in Dorchester 
for his deep interest in all her affairs. The following inscrip- 
tion is on his monument: — 

"In memory of Deacon Nicholas Clap, one of the early settlers of 
Dorchester. He came to New England about 1633, and died Nov. 24, 
1679, aged 67 years. His descendants to whom he left the best of all 
his patrimony, the example of a benevolent, industrious and Christian 
life, erect this stone to his memory, 170 years after his decease. His 
piety, his constancy in virtue and in truth, these on tradition's tongue 
shall live, they shall from sire to son be handed down to latest time." 

You will find four small stones at the graves of four slaves. 
Three belonged to Robert Oliver, and one the property of James 
Foster. His name was Bristol, and is called his negro servant. 
On one stone is an inscription, — 

"Ann, a Negro child, belonging to Robert Oliver and daughter to 
his Negro Mimbro, aged two years, died June, 1743." 

There is a spot said to contain 28 Revolutionary soldiers 
with no stone or monument over them. It is hedged with 
arbor-vita;. Here is an opportunity for the patriotic resi- 
dents of Dorchester to erect a monument ir memc-v r^ the 
men who died for our firesides.* 

Near the corner of Stoughton and Boston Streets are buried 
Jonas and James Humphreys, who came to Dorchester in 

*See page 3. 
[19] 



i634- Their descendants have always been interested in the 
welfare of our town, and the name of Humphreys is well 
represented to-day by one of our much esteemed and well- 
known citizens. 

While consulting with antiquarians and walking through 
this venerable "God's Acre," in studying histories and records, 
I have been oppressed with the fact that no adequate paper 
to be read in one evening could give more than a glance at the 
history of our burying-ground. I have, therefore, confined 
myself almost entirely to a portion of its early records, leaving 
to others the interesting story of the past century and a half. 

As we stand by the graves of the early fathers and mothers, 
our thoughts naturally revert to the 140 passengers in the 
"Mary and John," who arrived in 1630, many of whose bodies 
lie buried here. How rudely broken must have been all the 
bonds of families and affection when they left the eld country, 
coming from comfortable homes and in some cases from 
luxurious ones, to Uve in log huts with all their discomforts! 
How terrible that voyage, so full of danger and misery ! What a 
sight to greet them when first they viewed this wilderness, then 
the terrors of Indians and wild beasts, and the years of priva- 
tion and suffering they and their children endured! and yet 
they came not for conquest, but to establish freedom of con- 
science and religion, with education and a proper distribution 
of land and property. How soon they planted their homes, 
their church, the first free school, the first town meeting, also 
allotting to each family a portion of land! We cannot find 
in all history such wisdom displayed as was shown by our 
forefathers in the foundations they laid for this historic town. 

We sometimes think the Pilgrims and Puritans were intoler- 
ant, and smile at some of their odd laws, customs, and epitaphs ; 
but the result of their wise teaching and efforts, as now seen in 
our schools, universities, churches, benevolent institutions, and 
our system of government, has made us the wonder of the 
civilized world. We can truly thank our heavenly Father 
for what they were and what they did, urtder his guiding hand. 
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1 cannot close this paper without speaking of Elder James 
Blake, who built his house previous to 1650; and fortunate 
has been the Dorchester Historical Society in preserving it 
from destruction. The elder lived until 1700, and died at 
the age of seventy-seven years. His wife Elizabeth lived until 
1694. James Blake held many offices. He was deacon and 
elder in the church. He was grandfather of James, who 
wrote the annals of Dorchester. His son James lived until 
1732. On his stone is recorded that "he was a member in 
full communion with ye church of Christ in Dorchester above 
fifty-five years and a deacon of ye some church thirty-five 
years." He suffered for seven years with an ulcerous leg, and 
his epitaph says, — - 

"Seven years, strong pain, do end at last, 
His weary days and nights are past, 
The way is rough, the end is peace; 
Short pain gives way to endless ease." 

The father of Elder James was William Blake, who with 
his wife Agnes came to Dorchester with Richard Mather in 
1635. He settled on what was called the Neck. During his 
life he was a selectman of the town, recorder and also an elder 
in the church. He died in 1663. In his will he left a legacy 
for the burying ground. He said: "I give unto ye town of 
Dorchester 20 pounds, to be l)cstowed on ye repairing of ye 
burying-place, so swine and other vermine may not annoy ye 
graves of ye saints, provided it be repaired within one year after 
my decease." 

Thomas Gray, of London, wrote in 1749 his immortal 
poem, entitled "Elegy written in a Country Churchyard." 
Webster pronounced it the most expressive poem ever written. 
I select three verses as appropriate to this occasion: — 

" Beneath these rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 
Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap, 
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, 

The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 
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Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, 
Their sober wishes never learned to stray; 

Along the cool sequestered vale of life, 

They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. 

Their name, their years, spelt by the unlettered muse, 

The place of fame and elegy supply; 
And many a holy text around she strews, 

That teach the rustic moralist to die." 

My task is done. I venture the hope that the hour spent 
will not be lost in which we have considered the history of our 
"Old Burying-ground." I trust it may awaken within us an 
increased interest and reverence for our "rude forefathers of 
the hamlet," and that we may more and more feel that as ex- 
pressed by Daniel Wel)ster, "We are true to ourselves only when 
we act with becoming pride for the blood we inherit and which 
we are to transmit to those who shall soon fdl our places." 



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LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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